::TITLE =========================================================================== =========================================================================== =========================== ============================= =========================== ============================= =========================== SEE ============================= =========================== ============================= =========================== ============================= =========================================================================== =========================================================================== SEE: The ultra-configurable, macro-capable, file & hyperdoc viewer/printer --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | - Display online documentation | | - Print all or part of a file | | - Copy a file or extract selected portions | | - View enormous files -- megabytes long and 255 characters wide | | - Support up to 3 printers, each with different setup strings | | - Scan executables while filtering out most non-text data | | - Read reports while filtering out printer control characters | | - Combine hypertext and printable user manual into one hyperdoc | | - Override configuration settings from the command line | | - Feed keystrokes from the command line (macros) | | - Configure almost everything -- the setup help is very detailed | | - Rearrange the pull-down menus and hotkeys to suit yourself | | - Keep a library of alternative configurations and menu designs | | | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Programs in the "SEE" package are Copyright (C) 1992, 1995 by Pinnacle Software, CP 386 Mount Royal, Quebec, Canada H3P 3C6 U.S. Office: Box 714 Airport Road, Swanton, Vermont 05488 USA Support Line (514) 345-9578 --- Free Files BBS (514) 345-8654 ::OVERVIEW =========================================================================== USER MANUAL OVERVIEW =========================================================================== This manual contains the following sections: INTRODUCTION ------------ What is "SEE"? Licensing Upgrading from Earlier Versions HOW TO USE SEE -------------- Starting up Wild cards Cross-directory viewing Monochrome (/M) Overriding standard files (/C /U /S) Summary of parameters and switches Spaces in parameters Reading files Scrolling keys Jump to a line Find text Textify Copy part or all of a file Function keys Copying Printer destination Conversion COMMAND-LINE MACROS ------------------- Basic format (/K) Special keys HYPERDOCUMENTATION ------------------ What is a Hyperdoc? Printer Escape Sequence Filtering (/P) No-Show Filtering (/N) Topic Find (/F) Quit Reading (/Q) Examples Copying versus /N and /P CONFIGURING SEE --------------- Default and specified configurations Multiple configurations (/C) Changing the pull-down menus Configuring from the command line (/O) Copying operations Status indications Printer setups Display control Color settings Complex example Saving changes with the /W switch Required files ::INTRODUCTION =========================================================================== INTRODUCTION =========================================================================== -------------- WHAT IS "SEE"? -------------- SEE is a utility for viewing and printing text files. It can also display hex files in a format that makes it easy for you to visually scan the file. SEE also lets you extract portions of text from the listing. The extracted portion can be copied to the printer or to a text file. SEE can also serve as a hypertext engine for your application program, providing you with a simple method for displaying and printing context-sensitive help. --------- LICENSING --------- SEE is available in four versions: SHAREWARE: Shareware means that you are entitled to evaluate SEE at no cost for a reasonable period (about 45 days). If you continue to use it after that, you are required to purchase a registered copy ($17 for a single-user license -- see the file ORDER.FRM for site licensing details.) REGISTERED: When you register a shareware copy of SEE, you will receive the latest version, plus an unlocking code that will let you register new shareware versions that we release for a period of two years. DISTRIBUTION LICENSE: The distribution license ($750) allows you to use an unlimited number of copies of a specially personalized copy of SEE. You may include it in a commercial package as a utility. If you do so, the only restriction is that you may not include this document (i.e. the SEE manual) or its essential content. This ensures that we do not license copies which can be sold in direct competition with us; SEE must be used to support a product rather than being a main selling feature. RETAIL LICENSE: You can sell complete, registered copies of SEE, complete with documentation, in return for royalties. The terms depend on volume and advance payments. The license is $100 plus the following royalty scale: Non-exclusive, no prepayment, no guarantees ------------------- $1.00/copy Non-exclusive, no prepayment, guarantee of 10,000 copies ------ $0.50/copy Non-exclusive, prepayment for 10,000 copies ------------------- $0.15/copy Non-exclusive, prepayment for 25,000 copies ------------------- $0.10/copy One-language exclusive for continent, 10,000 copy prepayment -- $0.30/copy One-language exclusive for continent, 25,000 copy prepayment -- $0.20/copy If you would like to obtain a retail license, please contact us to request the retail license contract appropriate to your requirements. ------------------------------- UPGRADING FROM EARLIER VERSIONS ------------------------------- The configuration file (SEE.CFG) is compatible with the configuration files from versions 2.01 onwards. So if you have a configuration file from version 2.01, 2.20 or 3.10 of SEE, it will still work. Nevertheless, you should run SEESETUP to see if there are any new configuration items you would like to change. The "SEE" program was previously accompanied by some other utilities. The GETKEY program is still included in the SEE package. GETKEY is "freeware" and may be given away as long as it is not altered in any way. Some of the other utilities (MIDNIGHT, SV) will be issued separately, at a later date, in a different utilities collection. The GO-MENU program is included with SEE, but it is actually part of our GO installation package. You are welcome to use GO-MENU if you have registered either GO or SEE. ::HOWUSE =========================================================================== HOW TO USE "SEE" =========================================================================== ----------- STARTING UP ----------- At the DOS command prompt, enter SEE followed by the name of the file you want to view. For example, the command: SEE SEE.DOC would display the file named SEE.DOC. SEE automatically detects the type of file being viewed and selects the appropriate display mode (standard text or "raw-text" for binary files). --------- WILDCARDS --------- If you specify a "DOS Wildcard", you will see a menu of file names that match. You can move the cursor to the file you want by using your arrow keys, then press Enter to see the file. For example: SEE *.INF would show you all files with the extension INF. If you omit any file specification, SEE assumes you mean *.* so that the following command would let you select from all files in the current directory: SEE ----------------------- CROSS-DIRECTORY VIEWING ----------------------- SEE normally looks for the files in your current drive and directory. However, you can look at another drive or directory by specifying the path name accordingly, as in this example: SEE D:\MYDIR\ACCOUNTS\PAYROLL.TXT ---------- MONOCHROME ---------- SEE can normally detect if you have a color display card or not, but no DOS program can detect if your monitor can actually display color. (Some people have color display cards with monochrome monitors) If SEE is displaying text in color and you want to force it to display in monochrome, add /M to the command line. For example: SEE MYFILE.TXT /M This would display the file MYFILE.TXT in black and white. You can configure SEE (using the SEESETUP program) to always start up in monochrome mode. This will save you the bother of always having to specify the /M parameter. ------------------------- OVERRIDING STANDARD FILES ------------------------- In normal operation, SEE uses a standard set of support files, but you can override them and use files you have prepared yourself... STANDARD FILES DESCRIPTION OVERRIDE FORMAT EXAMPLE ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ ÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ SEE.MNU Menu layout SEE file /Ufilename SEE XYZ.DOC /uMYMENU.MNU SEE.CFG Configuration SEE file /Cfilename SEE XYZ.DOC /cMYCONF.CFG SEE.SBx Help (SBI/SBT) SEE file /Srootname SEE XYZ.DOC /sMYHELP You do not have to specify the file extension for the /C and /U parameters; SEE will assume CFG or MNU as appropriate. Also, both /C and /U let you place the file in another directory, if you specify the full path. If you do not specify a full directory path, SEE will look first in the current directory, and then in the directory where the SEE.EXE program is located. Configuration files do not require the CFG extension. Menu files do not require the MNU extension. However, it may make it easier to keep track of your files if you use these standard extensions. The program SEESETUP also recognizes the /C parameter. When you use /C with with SEE and you call up SEESETUP (General/Setup via the pull-down menu, or Alt-Z via the shortcut key) it passes the correct configuration file name to SEESETUP. The help files (SBI/SBT) can be prepared only with a special program named SBX. This program comes with the source code or distribution license. The help files must be placed in the same directory as the SEE.EXE program. ---------------------------------- SUMMARY OF PARAMETERS AND SWITCHES ---------------------------------- Here is a brief summary of the command-line switches: FORMAT OF COMMAND FUNCTION ---------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- SEE file /Cfilename Specifies alternative configuration (CFG) file SEE file /Ftext Finds the specified text SEE file /Kkey-list Stacks keys to be "pressed automatically" ("macros") SEE file /M Switches on monochrome (black and white) display SEE file /Nprefix-list Lists up to five prefixes for "no-show" lines SEE file /N Enables the preconfigured "no-show" prefixes SEE file /Oconfig-list Temporarily modifies one or more configuration items SEE file /P Switches on printer-code filtering SEE file /Qtext Stops reading in text when specified text is found SEE file /Q Stops reading in text when a /N prefix is found SEE file /Srootname Specifies alternative help (SBI/SBT) files SEE file /Ufilename Specifies alternative menu (MNU) file SEE file /W Saves modifications specified by the /O parameter SEE file /X Switches on raw text (binary file) display mode | | This can be a file (e.g. XYZ.TXT) or a wildcard file mask (e.g. *.TXT). If you omit the "file" part, SEE assumes you mean *.* (which means "every file in the current directory) and will show you a menu. You can use several parameters and switches in the same command: SEE XYZ.TXT /cMYFILE.CFG /fHELLO /qGOODBYE Some parameters are not compatible, however. You can not mix the /P and the /X parameter (printer-code filtering is not available in raw text mode). Also, the /W switch has no value unless used with the /O parameter. If you omit the "file" part of the command and use both the /O and /W parameters, SEE can modify and save configuration items from the command line without displaying anything (unless there is an error). See the section "Configuring from the Command Line", which describes /O and /W in detail. -------------------- SPACES IN PARAMETERS -------------------- If you are passing a parameter that has a space in it, you must enclose the information in quotes. For example: SEE MYDOC.TXT /F"Mr. Jones" If you require a quote inside the parameter information, you must use doubled-up quotes: SEE MYDOC.TXT /F"Mr. ""Ace"" Jones" ------------- READING FILES ------------- -------------- SCROLLING KEYS -------------- Once you have selected the file you want to read, you can scroll back and forth in the file a line at a time, using the arrow keys. You can also jump back and forth a screen at a time, using the PgUp and PgDn keys. The Home and End keys position the file to the beginning and end, respectively. The spacebar key moves forward one screen each time it is pressed. When you reach the end of the file, you are returned to the previous operation (i.e. the file selection menu, if you started SEE with DOS wildcards, or the DOS prompt otherwise). The left and right-arrow keys scroll text left and right one character at a time. You can use these keys in conjunction with the Ctrl key to scroll five characters at a time. --------- THE L KEY -- Jump to a line --------- The L key will ask you for a line number. It will then jump to that line, positioning it at the first line of the viewing area. --------- THE F KEY -- Find text --------- The F key will ask you for a text string. If it finds that string in the text, it will jump there, highlighting the line the text is on. The line is positioned in the middle of the screen, if possible. To search for the same text again, press the F3 function key. To search backwards to a previously found line, press the F4 function key. ------------- THE ALT-Y KEY -- Textify ------------- The ALT-Y key lets you filter the display of data in "binary" (non-text) files such that only the words (and a little bit of extraneous material) show up. This is useful for scanning a program or data file for helpful information, while removing most of the material that is intelligible only to the computer. The textify function only works in raw binary display mode. You can force SEE to use this display mode by starting it up with the /X switch, as in this example: SEE MYFILE.DAT /X In most cases this will not be necessary, since SEE automatically detects the difference between binary and text files. --------- THE C KEY -- Copy part or all of the file to printer or file --------- The C key sends a copy of the file (or part of it) to your printer, or to another file. See the section entitled "Copying" for details. While using the C feature, remember that the Esc key will always return you to your previous operation. If you were looking at the help screens, it returns you to the viewing window. If you were viewing text, it returns you to the file selection menu (if you started SEE with DOS wildcards) or the DOS prompt otherwise. The Copy command asks many questions in order to determine what you want to do. To save time, you can use the SEESETUP program to specify default values to these questions, or skip them altogether (using a preselected value). ----------------- THE FUNCTION KEYS ----------------- F 1 displays the help screens. See "Quick Help", above, for additional information about these screens. F 2 displays a "ruler" line, which lets you determine in which column text starts and ends. F 3 repeats the last Find operation (see "The F Key", above). F 4 repeats the last Find operation, but looks backwards F 5 switches the display to 25 lines, in monochrome. F 6 switches the display to 25 lines, in color. F 7 switches the display to smaller letters, in monochrome, if you have the appropriate display card. If you have a CGA, Hercules or MCGA card, nothing will happen. If you have an EGA card, you will see 43 lines on your screen. A VGA display card will display 50 lines. F 8 does what the F7 key does, but uses color instead of monochrome. F 9 sends a page eject character (ASCII 12, Hex $0C) to the printer. You can select the printer number. By default it is printer LPT1 (or the default printer number specified by SEESETUP). F10 calls up a menu for selecting SEE functions. This takes a little longer than pressing a single letter key, but is easier to remember! The menu also includes a Help section which explains various SEE capabilities. ------- COPYING ------- When you are viewing a file and you press the C (Copy) key, SEE will ask you a few questions, then copy part (or all) of the file to the printer, or to another file. The questions let you specify: PORTION: Which part of the file (some, or all) should be copied. DESTINATION: Which printer you want to print to (LPT1, LPT2 etc.) or which file you want to copy to (e.g. SAVE.TXT). If the file already exists, you can overwrite it, or add to the end. The following two questions apply to printing only: CONVERSION: Whether to convert extended characters or not. FORM-FEED: Whether the printer should "page eject" after printing. The printer questions are discussed in more detail, below. NOTE: Before you start printing, make sure your printer is turned on, is supplied with paper, and that the "Online" light is lit. (On some printers, the Online light may be labelled "Ready", or something similar. Refer to your printer manual if you are not sure.) If at any time you wish to exit from the copying process, you can press the Esc key. If you were printing, you may have to turn your printer OFF for a moment, then ON again, to reset it and clear its memory. The Copy command asks many questions in order to determine what you want to do. To save time, you can use the SEESETUP program to specify default values to these questions, or skip them altogether (using a preselected value). ------------------- PRINTER DESTINATION ------------------- When you are asked to select a printer destination, choose the address of the printer to which you are copying the text. You can choose any printer from LPT1 to LPT9. (It is somewhat unusual to have a printer with an address higher than LPT2.) If you are not sure, select LPT1. Most PC-compatible computers have their printer at that address. Exception: if your computer is sharing the printer with other computers on a network, check with your network manager before proceeding. ---------- CONVERSION ---------- Many documents (such as this one) make use of the special characters that are available on IBM-PC compatible computers. Some printers, though (particularly older printers and very high speed printers), can not print these characters properly. If when you print, many of the characters come out wrong, you may have to have them "converted". The conversion process replaces these characters with a "reasonable" substitution before printing them. (Note that this affects only the printing; the document you are viewing is NOT changed.) For example, accented letters can not be printed on all printers. So an accented "e" would be printed simply as "e", with no accent. Line-drawing characters (for boxes) are also a problem for some printers. So the vertical line character is replaced with the standard "split bar" character, which looks almost the same. ::MACROS =========================================================================== COMMAND-LINE MACROS =========================================================================== ------------ BASIC FORMAT ------------ When you start up SEE at the DOS prompt, you can "stack" keys with the /K parameter, as in this example: SEE SEE.DOC /K{END} This would display the file SEE.DOC in the usual way, but would "press" the End key to jump to the end of the file. ------------ SPECIAL KEYS ------------ Special keys are entered using codes in brace parentheses, as follows: {SPC} Space {CR} Enter {ESC} Escape {F1} F1 {F2} F2 {F3} F3 (etc.) {UP} Up arrow {DN} Down arrow {HOME} Home {LF} Left arrow (RT} Right arrow {END} End {CTLF} Ctrl-Left Arrow {CTRT} Ctrl-Right Arrow {CHOM} Ctrl-Home {PGUP} PgUp {PGDN} PgDn {CEND} Ctrl-End {CPGD} Ctrl-PgDn {HOME} Home {LBRC} { {TAB} Tab {BTAB} Shift (back) Tab {RBRC} } Standard keys (i.e. those you can type) can be entered directly. Most keys can also be entered as decimal ASCII values. Thus, you could enter the {CR} (Carriage Return) code as {13}. This method does NOT work for all values above ASCII 128, some of which are used internally by SEE to represent Alt-Letter keys and mouse activity. For example, Alt-D is represented by {160}. SEE XYZ.TXT /K{160}R would select "Display/Ruler". For a list of the special values, see the file SEE.MNU. ::HYPER =========================================================================== HYPERDOCUMENTATION =========================================================================== ------------------- WHAT IS A HYPERDOC? ------------------- Many software products are accompanied by: - A READ.ME file which gives general instructions - A printable manual on the diskette - A program to print the manual - Context-sensitive help within the software product - Text for the context-sensitive help SEE can combine all of these functions, replacing the items above with: - SEE.EXE (The SEE program) - A printable user manual containing hypertext labels An optional item is the file SEE.CFG, which can contain specific config- uration information. SEE can use its /P and /N parameters to display the user manual on the screen, while suppressing the printer and hypertext codes it contains. The CFG file contains information about the codes used. (If the CFG file is not present, SEE assumes the document uses EPSON FX printer codes, and uses the prefix :: for hypertext labels.) Your program can also call up SEE, using the /P /N /F and /Q parameters, to zero in on a particular topic within the manual. For example, your program could pass this command to DOS: SEE SEE.DOC /P /N!:: /F::HYPER /Q This would do the following: - Suppress printer codes - Suppress display on hypertext codes (e.g. ::HYPER) - Stop reading when the next hypertext code (or end of file) is found Thus, the user would be able to use all the normal SEE functions within a subset of the standard document. This document (SEE.DOC) uses printer codes (i.e. the Form Feed character) and hypertext codes (e.g. ::HYPER), so you can try the command given above to see how it works. -------------------------------------- PRINTER ESCAPE SEQUENCE FILTERING (/P) -------------------------------------- An "Escape Sequence" is a string of characters which begin with a particular character (usually the Escape character -- ASCII 27). When a printer sees this character, it inspects one or more of the following bytes to determine what it should do (change fonts, start underlining etc.). If you are viewing a document that contains printer escape sequences, you can filter most of them out by turning on Printer Escape Sequence Filtering. There are three ways to do this: - Press F10 to call up the menu, then select Printer/Filter Codes - Press the shortcut key Alt-F - Start up SEE with the /P command-line switch (e.g. SEE MYFILE.PRN /P) Filtering only works in standard text mode. If you are in raw text mode (i.e. you started up SEE with the /X switch, or SEE did not recognize the file as a text file), filtering is disabled. When you are filtering, SEE will also skip any characters below ASCII 32, since these are non-display characters that are usually used to control the printer. For example, ASCII 12 (Ctrl-L) is almost always used to mean "eject page". If the file you are viewing was prepared for some other printer, you can modify the sequences that SEE recognizes. You can either use a predefined setup (shipped with SEE as files with a PRT extension) or type in your own. To type in or load new definitions, start up SEESETUP and select "Printer Escape Sequences Filter". Setting up new filtering specifications requires an intimate knowledge of the printer you are using. You can, however, find some helpful information by positioning your cursor on any of the fields in the "Printer Escape Sequences Filter" screen and pressing F1. You can also view the file EPSONFX.PRT (supplied with the standard edition of SEE) to find out how you can create your own printer definition files, using only a text editor. ---------------------- NO-SHOW FILTERING (/N) ---------------------- SEE lets you define up to five "No-Show Prefixes". A No-Show Prefix is a sequence of up to 10 characters which, if found in column one of a document, will suppress the display of that line (provided you have enabled No-Show, using the /N parameter). The text file SEE.DOC, which is included in the standard SEE package, contains several lines which begin with a :: sequence. These are used as "labels", and the batch file START.BAT (included with SEE) uses them (via the batch file VIEW.BAT) to display portions of this manual. (To try out the START.BAT file, switch to your SEE directory and type START at the DOS prompt. Then select INFO to view SEE.DOC.) To jump to the "CONFIGURING SEE" section of SEE.DOC, you would enter the following command: SEE SEE.DOC /P /N!:: /F::HYPER The /P switch filters printer codes -- SEE.DOC contains the form feed character (ASCII 12) at the beginning of each new page. The /N parameter defines the "No-Show" prefix (i.e. ::). The /F parameter (which is discussed later in more detail) finds the ::HYPER label. Since we are in No-Show mode (because of the /N parameter), SEE will display the first visible line that follows the label. The format of the /N parameter is: /N delimiter code1 [delimiter code2] ... [delimiter code5] For example, to set three No-Show prefixes (@@, ## and $$): SEE XYZ.DOC /N-@@-##-$$ The "delimiter" part of the command is important: you must use a character that does not appear in the any of the prefixes, since the delimiter is being used to separate the prefixes. Any character can be used as a delimiter, except | < and > (which have a special meaning to DOS) and the quote character ("), which has a special meaning to SEE (see the section entitled "Spaces in Parameters"). If you entered the command above, any lines that started with @@, ## or $$ would not be displayed. Nor could they be copied (using SEE's copying functions) or printed. The only way they can be accessed is through the /F and /Q parameters. If you do not specify any prefixes for /N, SEE will look in the config- uration file (SEE.CFG) for the list of No-Show Prefixes. Run SEESETUP to set these. If SEE does not find any prefixes there, it will assume a default :: prefix. --------------- TOPIC FIND (/F) --------------- The /F parameter finds the specified text (up to 80 characters long). The simplest case works like this: SEE XYZ.TXT /FTHE This would find the first occurance of the word "THE", and highlight it in the middle of the screen. If you are looking for something that has a space in it, you have to enclose the specification in quotes: SEE XYZ.TXT /F"THE DOG" This would find the first occurance of "THE DOG". All searches are case-insensitive. Note: due to the way DOS command-line parameters are parsed, it is not possible to search for double spaces. Thus, the command SEE XYZ.TXT /F"THE DOG. ROVER WAS HIS NAME." would not work; the two spaces are treated as a single space. The /F parameter is useful when used in conjunction with the /N parameter, since this forms the basis of SEE's hyperdoc capabilities. For example: SEE XYZ.TXT /N!@@ /F@@CHAPTER2 The /N parameter puts SEE into No-Show mode and suppresses any lines that begin with the @@ sequence. The /F parameter looks for the first line that reads "@@CHAPTER2" and goes there. Since we are in No-Show mode and the line we found is a No-Show line, SEE displays the next visible line at the TOP of the screen (not the middle, as in the simple example given before). Thus, you could set up a file named ABC.DOC like this: ::TITLEPAGE (Text) ::CHAPTER1 (Text) ::CHAPTER2 (Text) ::INDEX (Text) Then, you could jump to the top of any of the sections with one of these commands: SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::TITLEPAGE SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::CHAPTER1 SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::CHAPTER2 SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::INDEX If any of the labels contains spaces, you must enclose the specification in quotes. For example, if the document is set up like this: @@TITLE PAGE (Text) @@CHAPTER 1 (Text) @@CHAPTER 2 (Text) @@INDEX SECTION (Text) then you would use these commands: SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@TITLE PAGE" SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@CHAPTER 1" SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@CHAPTER 2" SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@INDEX SECTION" If your document contains printing codes, such as form feeds, you can include the /P switch to suppress them. For example: SEE ABC.DOC /N!@@ /F"@@TITLE PAGE" /P ----------------- QUIT READING (/Q) ----------------- The /Q parameter is the "other half" of the /F parameter. Once /F has found its text, /Q tells SEE where to stop reading. Let's say you set up the document ABC.DOC as follows: ::TITLEPAGE (Text) ::CHAPTER1 (Text) ::CHAPTER2 (Text) If you entered this command: SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::CHAPTER1 then SEE would position itself at the top of Chapter 1. However, all the text after it would be available -- including Chapter 2. If you want to display only Chapter 1, enter this command: SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::CHAPTER1 /Q Used in this way, /Q means "Stop when you reach the next No-Show line". You can also add a parameter to /Q, to indicate specific text. Let's say you wanted to display the Title Page and all of Chapter 1. You could enter this command: SEE ABC.DOC /N!:: /F::TITLEPAGE /Q::CHAPTER2 This would position SEE at the top of the Title Page, but would not allow the user to go past the end of Chapter 1. The /Q specification does not have to be a No-Show line. For example, the following command is valid: SEE MYFILE.TXT /F"THE DOG" /Q"THE CAT" This would position the line containing "THE DOG" near the middle of the screen, but would not show any text after the line containing "THE CAT". -------- EXAMPLES -------- Here are some examples of the /N /F /Q and /P parameters... COMMAND WHAT IS DISPLAYED ----------------------------------- --------------------------------------- SEE SEE.DOC /P All of file; no printer codes SEE SEE.DOC /N!:: All of file, suppressing :: lines SEE SEE.DOC /N All (See NOTE #1) SEE SEE.DOC /N /F::INTRO /Q::HOWUSE From INTRO section to start of HOWUSE SEE SEE.DOC /N /F::INTRO /Q From INTRO section to next No-Show line SEE SEE.DOC /N /F /Q::HOWUSE From beginning, to start of HOWUSE SEE SEE.DOC /N /Q::HOWUSE Same as above SEE SEE.DOC /N /F::HOWUSE From start of HOWUSE section to end SEE SEE.DOC /N /F /Q All of file SEE SEE.DOC /Fthe /Qupload From first "THE" to the next "UPLOAD" SEE SEE.DOC /Fthe /Q From first "THE" to the end of file NOTE #1: If you use /N by itself (i.e. no prefixes specified), SEE will look in the configuration file for the default No-Show Prefixes you specified via SEESETUP. If the configuration (CFG) file is not found, or no prefixes were set, SEE will assume a :: No-Show Prefix. NOTE #2: The /N /F /Q and /P parameters are ignored if you use the /X switch (which means "display file in raw-text mode"). ------------------------ COPYING VERSUS /N AND /P ------------------------ If the user copies part or all of the file while /N or /P are in effect, SEE tries to make a reasonable choice about what to copy. If /N is in effect, no No-Show lines will be copied. If /P is in effect, SEE will suppress printer codes if the destination is a file. If the destination is a printer, SEE will send the printer codes. ::CONFIG =========================================================================== CONFIGURING "SEE" =========================================================================== ------------------------------------ DEFAULT AND SPECIFIED CONFIGURATIONS ------------------------------------ Even if you do not pre-configure SEE, it will try to pick reasonable values for all of its operations. For example, it will detect the kind of display card you have and choose color or monochrome mode accordingly, using the same number of lines per screen that you had set before you called up SEE. However, you may wish to change some of the selections. You can create a configuration file (named SEE.CFG) using the SEESETUP configuration program (SEESETUP.EXE). ---------------------------- MULTIPLE CONFIGURATIONS (/C) ---------------------------- When SEE starts up, it looks in the current (i.e. logged) drive and directory for a file named SEE.CFG. If it does not find it there, it looks in the SEE home directory (i.e. where the SEE.EXE file is located) for the file. If it finds the file, it uses the values it specifies. If it does NOT find it (in either the logged or home directory), SEE uses reasonable default values that are appropriate for virtually all machines. CFG files are created with the SEESETUP program. To start up SEESETUP, enter SEESETUP at the DOS prompt, or select "Setup" on the SEE pull-down menu. Each configuration screen can provide you with detailed explanations of each configuration option -- press F1 whenever you need additional information. If you create several different CFG files, you can specify which one should be used, when you start up SEE, by using the /C parameter. For an explana- tion of this parameter, see "Overriding Standard Files" in the "How to Use SEE" section of this manual. ---------------------------- CHANGING THE PULL-DOWN MENUS ---------------------------- The pull-down menus are fully configurable. To change them, make a backup copy of the file SEE.MNU, then load SEE.MNU into a text editor. The file contains complete details for modifying the menus. --------------------------------- CONFIGURING FROM THE COMMAND LINE --------------------------------- Sometimes you need a brief departure from the standard configuration settings. For example, you might want to display a particularly important document in a different color, or you might want to change the default printer for a particular task. You can, of course, set up multiple configuration (CFG) files -- see the explanation of /C for details -- but you can also pass quick changes on the command line. While this is a bit cumbersome for manual use, it is a powerful tool when you call SEE from a program or a batch file. To temporarily change a setting, you use this format: SEE file /Ochange-list The format of the change-list (which can be up to 100 characters long) is: delimiter code delimiter value [delimiter code delimiter value] [...] For example, to change the the main viewing screen color to Yellow on Red (which will really get the readers attention!), you enter this command: SEE SEE.DOC /o!MVRGTX!Yr The exclamation mark (!) is the delimiter. SEE.DOC is the file being displayed. MVRGTX is the code meaning "Main View Screen, Regular Text". Yr is the color code for Yellow on Red. (For a table of color codes, start SEESETUP, select Color, then press F1) This change will remain in effect only as long as SEE is running. If you want to make the change permanent, you can use the /W option (described later). You can specify more than one configuration change at once -- although you can only have one /O parameter. Here is another example, which sets the color to Green on Blue and turns on the top-line ruler (instead of the usual file information display): SEE SEE.DOC /o=MVRgTx=Gb=UseRul=Y In this example, the delimiter is the equals sign (=). You can use any delimiter except the following: | < > " The first three have a special meaning to DOS, and the double-quote has a special meaning to SEE, as explained in the section "Spaces in Parameters". The example demonstrates that the codes can be in any case (UPPERCASE, lowercase or MixedCase). IMPORTANT NOTE: The values you feed to SEE via the /O switch are given only a rudimentary evaluation. It is possible to feed an "impossible" value (such as setting the LINES settings to 999). When in doubt, consult the help screens available in the SEESETUP program which correspond to the items you wish to modify. Here are the configuration items you can change: ------------------ COPYING OPERATIONS ------------------ MAXIMUM CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT ------ ------------------------------------------- ------- ------------- PRTR Default printer (LPT) for Copy-To operation 1 1 to 9 PRTR? Let the user change default printer? 1 Y or N CVT Send text to printer Converted or As-is? 1 C or A CVT? Let the user choose to convert or not? 1 Y or N COPYTO Default copy destination, printer or file 1 P or F COPYT? Let the user pick copy destination? 1 Y or N OVERWR Overwrite or Append when copying to file? 1 O or A OVERW? Let the user pick Overwrite or Append? 1 Y or N DFSVFL Default name for file to write to? 50 File name DFSVF? Let the user pick the file to write to? 1 Y or N ------------------ STATUS INDICATIONS ------------------ MAXIMUM CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT ------ ------------------------------------------- ------- ------------- BLTOP Bottom line of screen at top of file 80 Decoded Text BLMID Bottom line of screen at middle of file 80 Decoded Text BLEND Bottom line of screen at end of file 80 Decoded Text BLALL Bottom line when entire file fits on screen 80 Decoded Text EOFMRK End of File Marker 20 Decoded Text "Decoded Text" means text that allows the use of the {123} symbols, which are translated to their ASCII equivalent. This lets you enter values that you can not type at the keyboard. Note that the TOPLIN, MIDLIN and ENDLIN values can also be specified in the MNU file. See the file SEESAMPL.MNU (included with the standard version of SEE) for a demonstration of the technique. -------------- PRINTER SETUPS -------------- MAXIMUM CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT ------ ------------------------------------------- ------- ------------- PRA Printer (LPT) for which setup is designed 1 1 to 9 PRASET Initializing string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text PRAIN1 Instructions to user - line 1 40 Text PRAIN2 Instructions to user - line 2 40 Text PRAEND Last string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text PRA Printer (LPT) for which setup is designed 1 1 to 9 PRASET Initializing string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text PRAIN1 Instructions to user - line 1 40 Text PRAIN2 Instructions to user - line 2 40 Text PRAEND Last string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text PRA Printer (LPT) for which setup is designed 1 1 to 9 PRASET Initializing string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text PRAIN1 Instructions to user - line 1 40 Text PRAIN2 Instructions to user - line 2 40 Text PRAEND Last string to send to printer 40 Decoded Text "Decoded Text" means text that allows the use of the {123} symbols, which are translated to their ASCII equivalent. This lets you enter values that you can not type at the keyboard. --------------- DISPLAY CONTROL --------------- MAXIMUM CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT ------ ------------------------------------------- ------- ------------- MONO Use monochrome mode & mono display colors? 1 Y or N LINES Lines per screen (0 = whatever is current) 1 0, 25, 43, 50 USERUL Start up with ruler on top line? 1 Y or N FINDTX Default "find" text when user does a Find 20 Text ITXTFY Use International Textify? 1 Y or N STOPBT Stop scrolling at bottom of file? 1 Y or N For LINES, note that 43 and 50 are equivalent. If SEE is running on an EGA card, either 43 or 50 will display 43 lines. If SEE is running on a VGA card, either value will display 50 lines. -------------- COLOR SETTINGS -------------- CODE DESCRIPTION LENGTH TYPE OF INPUT ------ ------------------------------------------- ------- ------------- EOFMCO Main View Screen, End of File Marker 2/4 Color Codes EOFBCO Main View Screen, Beyond End of File 2/4 Color Codes MVRGTX Main View Screen, Standard Text 2/4 Color Codes MVFNTX Main View Screen, Found Text 2/4 Color Codes MVSTLL Main View Screen, Top Line Labels 2/4 Color Codes MVSTLD Main View Screen, Top Line Data 2/4 Color Codes PUINFT Pop-up messages, Info, Standard Text 2/4 Color Codes PUINFB Pop-up messages, Info, Border 2/4 Color Codes PUINFH Pop-up messages, Info, Highlighted Text 2/4 Color Codes PUINFL Pop-up messages, Info, Lowlighted Text 2/4 Color Codes PUWRNT Pop-up messages, Warning, Text 2/4 Color Codes PUWRNB Pop-up messages, Warning, Border 2/4 Color Codes PUQUET Pop-up messages, Question, Standard Text 2/4 Color Codes PUQUEB Pop-up messages, Question, Border 2/4 Color Codes PUQUEH Pop-up messages, Question, Highlighted Text 2/4 Color Codes PUQUEI Pop-up messages, Question, Input Text 2/4 Color Codes PMNRMT Pull-down menus, Normal topic 2/4 Color Codes PMLTR1 Pull-down menus, Quick letter, foreground 2/4 Color Codes PMMAIN Pull-down menus, Main topic selected, bkgrnd 2/4 Color Codes PMMENU Pull-down menus, Menu topic selected 2/4 Color Codes PMBORD Pull-down menus, Menu borders, background 2/4 Color Codes Color codes can be specified either as two characters (e.g. Gr) or four characters (e.g. GrLk). If you specify two characters, you will only change the color set and leave the monochrome set unaffected. If you specify four characters, you will change both the color and monochrome settings. The color codes (which are case sensitive) are as follows: FOREGROUND OR BACKGROUND MAY BE USED IN FOREGROUND ONLY ------------------------ ------------------------------ k Black b Blue D Dark Gray B Light Blue g Green c Cyan G Light Green C Light Cyan r Red m Magenta R Light Red M Light Magenta w Brown L Light Gray Y Yellow W White --------------- COMPLEX EXAMPLE --------------- Here is a fairly complex example of the /O parameter which will radically change the appearance of SEE from its standard setup... /o:PMNRMT:Lk:PMLTR1:Yr:PMMAIN:Yk:PMMENU:Gb:PMBORD:Gr:USERUL:Y:MVRGTX:Yr --------------------------------- SAVING CHANGES WITH THE /W SWITCH --------------------------------- The /O parameter is generally used to make temporary changes. However, if you add the /W switch to the command, SEE will write the changes to the configuration (CFG) file when it ends normally. There is one special situation using /O and /W: if you do not specify a file, nothing will be displayed on the screen (unless there is an error). Normally, when you do not specify a file, SEE displays a menu of all the files in the current directory. However, if it spots both the /O and /W parameters, it assumes that you wish to make a "quiet" change to the configuration. The benefit of this feature is that it allows you to give users a copy of SEE without giving them a copy of SEESETUP, yet still have the power to make permanent changes to their configuration. This capability is most welcome by network administrators who are tired of bailing out users who made configuration changes -- thinking they knew what they were doing -- only to get into trouble. Thanks to the /W switch, the administrator can dictate a cryptic line over the phone -- asking the user to read it back to be sure, of course -- and install a change in an obscure manner that will not tempt the user to play around. -------------- REQUIRED FILES -------------- The information in this section is not important if you have a single-user license for SEE. However, if you will be providing multiple users with SEE, you may wish to know which files are essential. The following files should be placed in the same directory as SEE.EXE: FILE NAME NOTE DESCRIPTION ------------- ---- ----------- SET.SET 1 Created by the shareware version of SEE SERIAL#.SET 1 Registration file for the shareware version ORDER.FRM 1 Order form SEE.SBI 2 Help file for SEE (Index) SEE.SBT 2 Help file for SEE (Text) SEESETUP.SBI 3 Help file for SEE (Index) SEESETUP.SBT 3 Help file for SEE (Text) SEE.MNU - Pull-down menu definition SEE.CFG 4 Configuration file NOTE #1: These files are only required by the Shareware and Registered versions of SEE. In copies covered by Distribution and Retail Licenses, these files are not required. NOTE #2: These files are created by compiling a source (SBS) file, using a program named SBX, a copy of which is included with the Distri- bution and Retail Licenses. These licenses also include a copy of the original SBS files for SEE. These files are called up when the user selects Help from the pull-down menu in SEE. NOTE #3: These files may be omitted if you are not including the setup program (SEESETUP.EXE). These files are created by compiling a source (SBS) file, using a program named SBX, a copy of which is included with the Distribution and Retail Licenses. These licenses also include a copy of the original SBS files for SEESETUP. These files are called up when the user presses the F1 key in SEESETUP. NOTE #4: In normal operation, SEE looks in the current directory for SEE.CFG. If it does not find it there, it looks in the directory where SEE.EXE is located. If it does not find it there, it will use "reasonable" default values that are appropriate under most conditions. You can also use SEE's /C parameter to point to an alternative CFG file.